St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, December 21
San Francisco, Calif. (Chase Center)
10 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Arizona
St. John’s to Take On No. 16/17 Arizona in San Francisco
12/20/2019 12:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm and Wildcats to meet at Chase Center on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO – Riding a six-game winning streak, the St. John's men's basketball team will close out non-conference play with arguably its toughest test to date this season, taking on No. 16/17 Arizona on Saturday night at San Francisco's Chase Center at part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Al Attles Classic.
The game, which is set to tip off at 10 p.m. ET, will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2 with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on the call. Fans can also listen to the St. John's audio broadcast featuring John Minko and Tarik Turner on 970 AM WNYM, TuneIn and Sirius XM.
The Red Storm (10-2) will face its first ranked opponent of the season when it takes on the Wildcats (10-2). Both of Arizona's losses have come at the hands of foes now ranked inside the top 10 nationally, as the Wildcats fell to Baylor and Gonzaga.
Mike Anderson's 10 wins in non-conference play are the most by a first-year St. John's head coach since the BIG EAST was founded for the 1979-80 season. Mike Jarvis previously owned the record, winning nine non-league games during the 1998-99 campaign that ended with the program's sixth appearance all-time in the Elite Eight. Steve Lavin led the Red Storm to eight regular-season non-conference wins during the 2010-11 season that also featured an NCAA Tournament berth.
After seeing eight different players score at least six points on Wednesday against UAlbany, the Red Storm will add another piece to their roster on Saturday, as sophomore forward Ian Steere becomes eligible after completing his academic year in residency. The NC State transfer played one game for the Wolfpack in 2018-19 before coming to St. John's for the second semester.
The Red Storm's balanced offensive effort in Wednesday's 85-57 win came without the services of senior guard Mustapha Heron, as the team's second leading scorer missed the contest with a right ankle sprain suffered on Dec. 10 against Brown. The Johnnies made up for his absence by shooting a season-high 50.7 percent from the floor, as four players finished in double figures for just the third time this year. Marcellus Earlington led the way for St. John's, recording 16 points and a career-high nine boards to go along with two blocks and two steals in just 18 minutes of action. Freshman Julian Champagnie scored 12 of his 14 points in the opening seven minutes of the game, bouncing back from a pair of below-average offensive efforts against Brown and West Virginia that saw him total nine points in those two games. Greg Williams Jr. added a career-high 11 points while Rasheem Dunn finished with 10 points and five assists. LJ Figueroa, the team's leading scorer this season at 15.1 points per game, narrowly missed making it five in double figures with nine points, six boards, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks.
In addition to the Red Storm's best shooting effort of the season, Wednesday also saw the Johnnies put forth one of their best outings of the campaign on the defensive end of the floor, as St. John's matched season-highs by forcing 24 turnovers and recording 15 steals. Through games played on Thursday, St. John's leads the BIG EAST and ranks 10th nationally with 10.0 steals per contest. In his 17 years as a head coach prior to taking over at St. John's, Anderson saw his teams lead the nation in steals four times and finish inside the top 30 on 14 separate occasions.
The Red Storm will hope to utilize that defensive pressure to contain an Arizona offense that ranks fifth in the nation averaging 85.1 points per game. The Wildcats shoot a blistering 49.9 percent from the floor, including a 37.6 percent success rate from three-point range, both of which ranks in the top 25 nationally. The Wildcats also do well to take care of the ball, surrendering just 11.7 turnovers per game on average.
Arizona boasts three players averaging double figures, all of whom are freshmen. Zeke Nnaji leads the team in both scoring in rebounding at 15.9 points and 7.6 boards per game. The 6-foot-11 forward has been highly efficient inside, converting on 68.6 percent of his field goal chances, a clip that ranks sixth in Division I. Nico Mannion and Josh Green, both of whom were top 10 recruits in the class of 2019 according to the ESPN Top 100, are averaging 14.3 points and 13.3 points per game, respectively, in the early going of their collegiate careers. Mannion is also dishing out 6.5 dimes per contest, good enough for 15th in the nation through games played on Thursday.
St. John's and Arizona have met just once in the history of the two programs, as the Wildcats emerged victorious in the semifinal of the 2011 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. Moe Harkless, D'Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene IV all finished in double figures in the 81-72 loss against the nation's no. 15 team while another freshman, Sir'Dominic Pointer, collected seven rebounds.
The Red Storm will begin BIG EAST play in the friendly confines of Carnesecca Arena on New Year's Eve, hosting No. 17/16 on Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Ring in the New Year with the Johnnies and secure select tickets for the special price of $20.20.
The game, which is set to tip off at 10 p.m. ET, will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2 with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on the call. Fans can also listen to the St. John's audio broadcast featuring John Minko and Tarik Turner on 970 AM WNYM, TuneIn and Sirius XM.
The Red Storm (10-2) will face its first ranked opponent of the season when it takes on the Wildcats (10-2). Both of Arizona's losses have come at the hands of foes now ranked inside the top 10 nationally, as the Wildcats fell to Baylor and Gonzaga.
Mike Anderson's 10 wins in non-conference play are the most by a first-year St. John's head coach since the BIG EAST was founded for the 1979-80 season. Mike Jarvis previously owned the record, winning nine non-league games during the 1998-99 campaign that ended with the program's sixth appearance all-time in the Elite Eight. Steve Lavin led the Red Storm to eight regular-season non-conference wins during the 2010-11 season that also featured an NCAA Tournament berth.
After seeing eight different players score at least six points on Wednesday against UAlbany, the Red Storm will add another piece to their roster on Saturday, as sophomore forward Ian Steere becomes eligible after completing his academic year in residency. The NC State transfer played one game for the Wolfpack in 2018-19 before coming to St. John's for the second semester.
The Red Storm's balanced offensive effort in Wednesday's 85-57 win came without the services of senior guard Mustapha Heron, as the team's second leading scorer missed the contest with a right ankle sprain suffered on Dec. 10 against Brown. The Johnnies made up for his absence by shooting a season-high 50.7 percent from the floor, as four players finished in double figures for just the third time this year. Marcellus Earlington led the way for St. John's, recording 16 points and a career-high nine boards to go along with two blocks and two steals in just 18 minutes of action. Freshman Julian Champagnie scored 12 of his 14 points in the opening seven minutes of the game, bouncing back from a pair of below-average offensive efforts against Brown and West Virginia that saw him total nine points in those two games. Greg Williams Jr. added a career-high 11 points while Rasheem Dunn finished with 10 points and five assists. LJ Figueroa, the team's leading scorer this season at 15.1 points per game, narrowly missed making it five in double figures with nine points, six boards, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks.
In addition to the Red Storm's best shooting effort of the season, Wednesday also saw the Johnnies put forth one of their best outings of the campaign on the defensive end of the floor, as St. John's matched season-highs by forcing 24 turnovers and recording 15 steals. Through games played on Thursday, St. John's leads the BIG EAST and ranks 10th nationally with 10.0 steals per contest. In his 17 years as a head coach prior to taking over at St. John's, Anderson saw his teams lead the nation in steals four times and finish inside the top 30 on 14 separate occasions.
The Red Storm will hope to utilize that defensive pressure to contain an Arizona offense that ranks fifth in the nation averaging 85.1 points per game. The Wildcats shoot a blistering 49.9 percent from the floor, including a 37.6 percent success rate from three-point range, both of which ranks in the top 25 nationally. The Wildcats also do well to take care of the ball, surrendering just 11.7 turnovers per game on average.
Arizona boasts three players averaging double figures, all of whom are freshmen. Zeke Nnaji leads the team in both scoring in rebounding at 15.9 points and 7.6 boards per game. The 6-foot-11 forward has been highly efficient inside, converting on 68.6 percent of his field goal chances, a clip that ranks sixth in Division I. Nico Mannion and Josh Green, both of whom were top 10 recruits in the class of 2019 according to the ESPN Top 100, are averaging 14.3 points and 13.3 points per game, respectively, in the early going of their collegiate careers. Mannion is also dishing out 6.5 dimes per contest, good enough for 15th in the nation through games played on Thursday.
St. John's and Arizona have met just once in the history of the two programs, as the Wildcats emerged victorious in the semifinal of the 2011 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. Moe Harkless, D'Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene IV all finished in double figures in the 81-72 loss against the nation's no. 15 team while another freshman, Sir'Dominic Pointer, collected seven rebounds.
The Red Storm will begin BIG EAST play in the friendly confines of Carnesecca Arena on New Year's Eve, hosting No. 17/16 on Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Ring in the New Year with the Johnnies and secure select tickets for the special price of $20.20.
Players Mentioned
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